Civil rights advocates accused the Trump administration of trampling on the First Amendment after arresting immigrants from Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian protests.
The U.S. Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly appeared in University-owned apartments in Mahmoud Khalil He was arrested in Manhattan Saturday without telling him or his pregnant American citizen wife why. They later informed his lawyer that they were revoking his green card, claiming that Khalil “led the campaign that was consistent with Hamas” but did not accuse him of crime. Monday, New York’s federal judge Khalil’s deportation temporarily prevented In his future legal struggle.
The case may test First Amendment protections, especially for non-citizen law residents. But this may also have a wide impact on every American.
Unless the government has evidence that Harrier committed an undisclosed crime, it appears to be an attempt to punitive action based on political expression, a sign of an authoritarian regime. Free media reported on Monday that according to an unnamed White House official Government sees Khalil as a national security threat But “the charge here is not that he is breaking the law.”
“If there is only one person in the government saying they don’t like it, they still need to show it now because otherwise, the harm to First Amendment freedom will be serious.”
What rights does Mahmoud Khalil have?
Khalil’s arrest raises legal questions about whether the Trump administration can revoke a green card based on his role in the Colombian protests.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio Posted on X On Sunday, the government “will revoke visas and/or green cards from U.S. Hamas supporters in order to deport them.” The government has provided no evidence to support Rubio’s allegations that Khalil is a Hamas supporter.
However, the government’s power to do so is limited, and civil rights lawyers believe the Trump administration has surpassed it in Khalil’s case.
“This arrest is unprecedented, illegal and non-American,” Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s speech, privacy and technology program, said in a statement.
Immigrants living in the United States, including visas and green cards, have the same free right to express themselves as any American in the First Amendment.
But, according to Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Institute of Immigration Policy and director of the think tank office of the New York University School of Law, the government can still detain and deport it if material support is found with or justify significant support for terrorism. (The U.S. will be the Palestinian militant group behind Hamas (October 7, 2023 attack on Israel) – for terrorist organizations.)
Under federal immigration laws, the standard of engaging in “terrorist activities” is high: if the government fails to comply with its requirements, threaten or conspiracy to carry out these actions, it may involve hijacking vehicles, assassination, kidnapping and threatening hostages that hold people.
It is worth noting that the first Trump administration believes that rhetoric alone is not enough to meet that bar. In an internal memorandum of 2018, the Justice Department attorney wrote: “It is likely that legal permanent residents will not be excluded or removed from office to express philosophical support for group activities that do not imply the interests of the U.S. foreign policy.”
As far as Khalil is concerned, it is unclear whether the government is detaining him based solely on his support for the Palestinian speech. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment based on specific reasons for detaining Khalil.
He is one of the main negotiators of the Colombian government representing the Colombian government Not participating in the occupation of university buildings The protesters were eventually evacuated by police.
It is obvious that the Trump administration is taking Khalil as an example. White House Posted on X On Monday, he called him “radical” and promised his arrest was the first of “many.”
Khalil’s arrest came after the Trump administration Cut $400 million in federal grants and contracts Columbia is because it is described as a university’s failure to respond to anti-Semitism on campus, despite the university’s Break the protesters sternly Last spring.
Chilling about freedom of speech
The influence of Colombia, where Khalil was arrested, was rapid. Students and faculty are worried that they may also be the target of the Trump administration – and, universities that care about further cuts of funds won’t even defend.
“Many of our faculty and staff are like permanent residents of the United States, many of whom speak during the scholarship process that the Trump administration considers harmful,” said Michael Thaddeus, a mathematics professor in Colombia. “The attack on Mahmoud Khalil is designed to get them on the boots and make us all tremble on the boots.”
But the arrests are far beyond the university’s campus. As long as it does not involve criminal acts, it will object to the Gaza war. Even if spokespersons are charged with criminal acts, they have the right to conduct fair hearings and due process.
“You can’t take it off on the street without knowing what you’ve been arrested,” Criley said.
So far, Khalil does not seem to have been protected by these laws. And if he was punished for his support for Palestinians, then it wouldn’t be said where the Trump administration would delineate political dissenters, especially among immigrants, among U.S. citizens.
“It seems like we are entering a dangerous new phase where the government is interpreting its power in a way that certainly will go beyond the scope of the Bill of Rights,” Criley said.
